Pieta
by Keitorin Asthore
Summary: The Earth kingdom has fallen, and Azula is laying her plans. They won't succeed, though, if Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Toph have anything to say about it. ON PERMANENT HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodoean, Bryan Konitzko, and Michael Dante DiMartino, not me.

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Zuko was restless.

He shifted back and forth at his sister's side, watching her pore over the reports. Azula's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. She steepled the fingers. "Again," she said. "I need to go over the information again."

"There are three traveling with the Avatar," the lieutenant said again. "Two from the southern water tribe, a boy around fifteen and a girl around fourteen. The girl is a waterbender, but not the boy."

"Those are the two we've encountered before," Azula said. "Both moderately competent, but nothing we cannot handle."

"The Avatar's third companion is a girl around twelve," the lieutenant continued. "A very small but very powerful earthbender. From what we've gathered, however, she is blind."

Azula stared into the distance. Zuko knew that look. That was the "I am formulating something, but you're not going to know what it is until it's too late for you to do anything about it." Finally she looked back at the lieutenant. "You're dismissed," she said, with a crisp wave of her hand. He left.

"What gives, Azula?" Mai said. "You've seen all three of the Avatar's companions before, but you made that man tell you all he knew four times."

Azula pushed herself off of the earth king's throne and paced. "I'm looking for a loophole," she said.

"Ooh," said Ty Lee.

Azula whirled around. "The water tribe boy is useless to us," she said.

"Cute…" Ty Lee started to say. Azula shot her a look. "But useless, yeah…"

"Our best bet is either one of the girls," Azula said, continuing her relentless pacing. "The Avatar is fond of that water-tribe girl, but she would be harder to nab." Azula stopped. "The earthbender. That will be the easiest for us."

"She's the one of the most powerful earthbenders in the world. I've heard she can even bend metal," Zuko objected. "How are you-"

Azula shoved her hand in his face. "Shut up, Zuzu," she said. "Firstly, it's not me, it's you three. You'll be the ones to get her. Second, she's _blind_. The lieutenant reported that she can sense vibrations in the ground, but the moment she's off the ground…"

"She's defenseless," Mai realized.

"We'll get her off the earth. Into water, or onto wood," Azula said. "She will be an excellent pawn." She plunked down onto the throne again. "This works best for the Avatar. Emotional warfare. Take away something he cares about, and he will do anything to get them back. Yes, the little earthbender will do nicely."

A servant entered the room and bowed deeply. "Your highness, your uncle wishes an audience," he said.

Zuko turned his head away. "Send him in," Azula said. "And look up, Zuzu, if you have any ounce of backbone left in you."

"Princess Azula, you should not speak to your brother like that."

"I can speak to him any way I like, Uncle," Azula said. She folded her hands. "What is it you want?"

Iroh looked around the throne room. "I see you have retained all of the earth king's décor," he said.

Azula's lips thinned. "Only the Dai Li know that the earth king is gone," Azula said. "To the rest of Ba Sing Se, he is still on the throne. I will keep the décor to keep up appearances, now tell me what you want before I order the Dai Li to take you away."

"I wish to return to my tea shop, niece," Iroh said.

"So you can plot against me?" Azula snorted.

Iroh held out his hands. "I am an old man, Princess Azula," he said. "My days of fighting are over. I wish to spend the rest of my days in my tea shop, making other people happy."

"You're a silly old fool," Azula said.

"I am," Iroh said, "but I would rather be a silly old fool than join with you."

Azula studied her uncle. "I may be getting soft," she said, "but I will let you return. The Dai Li will escort you. When you return, you are forbidden to mention any of this. Do I make myself clear?" Iroh nodded. "I will send the Dai Li to check on you at various occasions, without warning. If I discover even the slightest hint of rebellion, I will not hesitate to order your execution."

"I understand, niece," Iroh said. "I do not like it, but I understand."

"Then go," Azula said.

Iroh looked past her shoulder to Zuko. Zuko felt his face flame. His uncle stared at him for a moment, with an indescribable look in his eyes. Then Iroh turned and left the throne room, escorted by the Dai Li.

"Be glad you're staying with me, Zuzu," Azula said. "If you left, you would be just as much of a fool as he is."

_I'd almost rather be a fool_, Zuko thought, but he pushed it away.

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For more information about this story, visit the website link in my author profile.

I am currently publishing an original novel. Please visit fictionpress(DOT)com/celizabethnicholas for more.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konitzko, and Michael Dante DiMartino, not me.

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The sharp cry pierced the night. Katara bolted upright and looked at Aang. He was deeply asleep, his shoulders rising and falling rhythmically. She relaxed, but the cry turned into a wordless mumbling scream. She leaned over and shook Sokka's shoulder.

"Wake up," she whispered. "I heard something."

Sokka moaned into Appa's side. "Whaddaya want?"

"It's coming from the dirt tent. I think there's something wrong with Toph," Katara whispered. "Get up and go see what's wrong."

"There's nothing wrong with-" Toph screamed again, and the earth tent shook. "Why can't you do it?" 

"I'm staying with Aang. Go get Toph and bring her over here."

Sokka pushed himself up, blinking drowsily. "Toph," he mumbled, loping over to her mound of dirt. "Toph, what's going on?" He grabbed the door to the tent and yanked it away.

Toph sobbed. The tiny Earth bender flailed her arms in her sleep, raising small clouds of dust. Her foggy eyes were wide open. "Let me out!" she wailed.

Sokka crept inside the tent and pinned her arms down. She fought harder. "Toph, wake up," he said. "Come on, Toph, wake up. It's okay."

Toph blinked. "I want out," she said in a small voice. "I want out of the box…" She lunged forward and grabbed Sokka's face. "Master Yu, how could you do this to me! I want out…of…the…box…." Toph ran her fingers along the long planes of Sokka's face. "You're not Master Yu."

"It's Sokka," he said. "You were having a nightmare."

Toph sagged. "Oh," she said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. I'll just go back to sleep now."

"I think Katara wants you to sleep with us," Sokka said. "Come on, over here." He helped Toph to her feet outside the tent, but she tumbled over and he barely caught her in time.

"I hate sand," Toph mumbled.

Sokka picked her up. "Here," he said. He carried over to where the others curled up against Appa and set Toph down next to his sister.

"Are you all right?" Katara asked, stroking a stray lock of hair away from Toph's forehead. She tilted her head, as if she sensed something, and hugged Toph.

Toph didn't pull away. "I had a bad dream," she said.

Katara rested her cheek against the top of Toph's head. "You're okay now," she said. "Sleep here between me and Sokka. We'll keep you safe."

Toph snuggled into the deep warm fur, her cheek resting on her small hands. She heaved a sigh. Sokka lay down next to her and fell back asleep in seconds. Toph was still awake for a while. Sokka rolled back and forth in his sleep. He tossed his arm around Toph's waist. She smiled sleepily, and a few minutes later she, too, was asleep.

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For more information about this story, visit the website link in my author profile.

I am currently publishing an original novel. Please visit fictionpress(DOT)com/celizabethnicholas for more.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konitzko, and Michael Dante DiMartino, not me.

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"Well, you look well-rested," Katara said.

The earth king's eyes were glazed over. "Not really. I'm so used to sleeping in the palace…"

"I was kidding," Katara said. "We sleep outside a lot. You'll get used to it."

"I hope not," the earth king sighed.

"By the way, what's your name?" Katara asked. She stirred at the fire.

"Ubon," he said, readjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "And you are…uh…um…Kya?"

"Katara," she said. "Sokka is my brother and Toph is the earthbender."

"And the Avatar is Aang," Ubon said eagerly. "I remember that one."

Katara added a few more sticks to the fire. "Speaking of Sokka, though, he should be back with something to eat soon," she said. "I bet you're hungry."

"Starved! What are we having? Eggs? Bacon?"

"Whatever Sokka and Momo can find," Katara said.

Ubon's shoulders sagged. "Oh," he said. "Do you always eat like that? Just whatever you can find."

"Usually," Katara said. "It's not so bad though."

"Hey, look what I found!" Sokka said. Momo chirped and leaped onto Katara's shoulder. "Mouserabbit!" 

"Well, that's some good news," Katara said. "You skin, I'll cook."

Sokka took one of the mouserabbits and started skinning it. "Should we wake up Toph and Aang?" 

Katara glanced over at the two youngest ones. Aang was flopped over Appa's front paws, snoring loudly. Toph curled up in the thick fur of the bison's flank under a blanket so that only her head peeped out. "Let them sleep," she said softly. "Aang's wounds are better, but he still needs to rest. And Toph had nightmares."

Sokka rubbed his shin. "She kicks in her sleep," he complained.

"Was she the one crying about the box?" Ubon inquired.

Katara nodded. "I guess that's what happened when we got separated," she said.

"She went in a box? That's what she did?" Sokka said.

"No, Master Yu put me in the box." 

"Well, good morning," Katara smiled.

Toph scowled. Her misty eyes were bruised. She reached out her hand, judging her distance from the campfire, and plunked down next to Sokka. "Don't be perky, Sugarface," she said.

"Why did Master Yu put you in a box?" Sokka asked.

"I thought your mother was coming to visit you," Katara said.

"I did too," Toph said. Momo jumped onto her lap and curled up against her knees. Toph stroked his soft ears. "But I went to the place I was supposed to be, and instead Master Yu and that guy from Earth Rumble Six put me in a metal box. I was in there for a couple of days." She flexed her fingers. "On the upside, I found out I can metalbend."

"A couple of days?" Katara repeated. "Are you okay?" 

Toph shrugged. "I will be," she said. "So what are we eating? I can't figure out what it smells like."

"Mouserabbit," Sokka said.

Toph wrinkled her nose. "I guess it's a good thing I can't see it," she said.

Ubon stared curiously at the roasting rodents. "It looks…disgusting," he said.

"Yes, but it's food," Katara said. "And if we're going to find a way to get you back in Ba Sing Se as the king, you'll need to keep up your strength. Eat up!"

Ubon still looked dubious, but he ate it anyway.

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For more information about this story, visit the website link in my author profile.

I am currently publishing an original novel. Please visit fictionpress(DOT)com/celizabethnicholas for more.


	4. Chapter 4

This story is now sort of canceled. Why do I say sort of? Well, it's a long story.

I began this story a long time ago, around the time that the second season ended. But for some reason it just wasn't working. I posted a chapter or two, then shelved it.

I also began another story, called "The Sin Eater." While I liked that one, it wasn't working very well either. So I shelved it too, without even posting it.

After a while, I discovered a new angle for "Pieta." I ended writing about twenty pages…before I hit another road block. Gah. Very frustrating.

Well, to make this long and arduous story short, I ended up combining the two. But I didn't really want to get rid of the beginning of "Pieta," in case someone wanted to pick up the original storyline where I left off and finish it out. But if you want to read the revamped version of this story, then please read "The Sin Eater." I hope you like it!

(Also, for a bit of trivia, I chose the title "Pieta" because Katara looked like the Michaelangelo statue at the end of season when she was holding Aang in her arms. So yeah!)


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